


The End of the World

by bradcpu



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-28
Updated: 2010-05-28
Packaged: 2017-10-09 18:42:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/90373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bradcpu/pseuds/bradcpu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A more hands-on Faith perspective for the Buffy season 5 finale, "The Gift." Inspired by a song.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The End of the World

For a few seconds, Faith stared wildly about the cell in a confused search for reality.

Then the last echoes of her shout died into labored breaths, and Faith brought both hands to her face. To cold, clammy skin. She coughed twice, fought to steady her breathing, and the hands continued into her hair, leaving a few strands stuck to her cheek by a film of sweat and tears.

Reality was slippery thing lately. Days and nights passed in a muddled mess of gray repetition, never seeming to begin or end. Was it a week or a month ago that she'd been pressed face down into her food by a mob of hands and taken a knife to the ribs? A day or a week since she sent five girls and two guards to the hospital after a beat-down in the yard?

Each day taught her another lesson. The first was about trust and who she could count on: the same person she always had. But there were other lessons to be learned. Strength put a bullseye on your back. Reckless equaled dead. Hope was something for children and idiots. Friends was a TV show.

She faced it moment-to-moment like a gladiator. This was all just another big, ugly demon.

The guards were quick learners, too, especially when it came to how fast Faith healed. A few days in solitary and there was nothing left to tell the tale - nothing but the word of an admitted murderer who had no relatives, no boy toy; not even a visitor in nearly a year.

She had gotten a crudely worded letter from Angel Investigations a few dozen fights ago and found herself devouring each word with a warm happiness. Obviously written by Cordelia, it said that Angel was "sorry he's been too busy to come see how much less crazy you are lately" and told her one of the guards would be keeping an eye on her in the meantime. Angel's visits, in fact, had stopped as soon as they started. As for B, she was about as likely to come visit as Faith's dead mother. Not that she should expect... She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and cleared her mind, back in warrior mode. It wouldn't end this way. She'd have the chance to make things right with B. With Joyce and 'lil sis. But not today.

Today there was something different. It wasn't the nightmare. That was the same as the past two weeks: a hand gradually losing hold on hers, slipping from her grasp, and Faith falling into an endless black nothingness. That was still better than the dreams she was having before - the ones spawned by guilt and buried pain. The way she always woke in the dead of night screaming or sobbing like a child almost made her not want to kill those bastards who locked her in solitary every night. Almost.

An uneasy feeling swept over her. Her senses snapped to attention. Something was happening.

"Unnghh." She clutched her stomach, disoriented, her mind swimming. Distantly, she heard a clanging and voices pleading to be let out of their cells.

"Please! It's time. Tonight. It's-it's time."

"I... I have somewhere to be. Yes. Somewhere to be."

"The god's... PLEASE!"

The voices fell to a murmur, and Faith heard footsteps - and these only through Slayer hearing. Two... no, one man. He didn't want anyone to know he was here.

Faith stood and faced the door seconds before a series of clinks and clangs told her it was about to open. No one had looked through the slot. Now there was light...

In a heartbeat she had the man's arm up his back and his face against the wall. She looked him over - a guard, one she'd never seen before.

"Lookin' for some late night fun, are we?" she said in a voice that had grown gravelly through days of silence. "You must be new. Most of you guys know better by now." She slammed his arm up higher. "But I guess some people just gotta learn the hard way..."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" he said, still trying to keep his voice down. The guard stood on his tiptoes to take the pressure off his arm. "I'm not here to - OW! Just let me explain!"

"You've got 15 seconds," Faith said.

She released her grip and the guard slumped against the wall, rubbing his arm. "Damn it! 'Feisty' he said. I can think of a few more words. I've gotta ask for more money."

"Ten seconds," Faith said, arms crossed.

"Okay! Jesus!" He turned and faced her, lowering his voice even further, and spoke quickly. "Someone is very interested in getting you out of here tonight. Don't ask me-"

Realization fell across Faith's face. "You're Angel's friend."

The guard smiled. "Not for much longer if this keeps up. Name's Rodriguez." He was dark and handsome with a young smile, the kind of guy Faith might have once met in a club. He extended his good hand.

Faith stared at the hand for a moment, weighing the situation.

"I don't bite," he said. "Not that there's anything wrong with that..."

At last, she smirked and took his hand. "So what's the deal?"

"You're asking the wrong guy. I'm just supposed to get you through the yard and to the wall. Aside from that..."

Faith lowered her head. "I knew there was something big going down tonight. Must be bigger than I thought." There was a long pause as the almost forgotten glimmer of something sent her spirit soaring. She wasn't alone... she always knew... That single thought cleansed her soul of a year's worth of pain. In seconds it had left her, as if she were waking from another nightmare. She was a Slayer again, one of the good guys. They needed her. She had a second chance. When she looked back at Rodriguez, her face was set. "Let's rock."

He swallowed hard and walked toward the door. "Stay close and quiet. If someone sees us," he looked over his shoulder at her, "run."

The door opened again, and Faith followed him out. Their feet fell softly, the slightest sound echoing in the expanse. Almost immediately the murmuring began again.

Solitary confinement was on ground level but near the heart of the complex. That meant a maze of hundreds of cells stood between them and the first checkpoint to the yard. Meanwhile they were in clear view of dozens of inmates at all times.

Faith was right. This guy was new. He paused several times at junctions and once had to backtrack. "You wanna stop and ask directions?" she whispered as he pondered a turn. He gave her an exasperated look then confidently made his choice.

Several times she would have sworn she heard someone following them, but each time she turned she saw only an empty cellblock. Throughout the journey, cells were dotted with inmates pressed to the bars, begging to be released or babbling something Faith didn't understand. Then she heard it - something that hit her like a shot.

"Little miss muffet. The blood is the key."

She walked closer to the cell, staring into the darkness. There was something from a dream... a long time ago. This meant something.

"Tonight. Curds and whey. TONIGHT!" A large woman lept from the shadows, reached her arms through the bars, and grabbed Faith by the ears. "Don't you understand?!? I have to go!"

Faith flailed at the arms, dumbstruck, as the woman continued screaming about beasts and lightning. A moment later, Faith was pulled backward as Rodriguez pushed something into the cell. There was a crackle, and the woman dropped.

"Come on!" he whispered urgently.

Faith looked back at the cell.

"She'll be fine," Rodriguez said, misunderstanding her pause. "Faith, we're kinda on a schedule here."

He pulled her by the arm, and in moments they were at an unmanned checkpoint. Rodriguez produced a card, and it slid open. "I knew you'd be good for something sooner or later," Faith whispered. Rodriguez didn't respond but hurriedly moved to the next set of bars. Soon they were peering out into the prison yard, bathed in moonlight, the wall looming high in the distance.

"There," Rodriguez said, pointing. "Just under that tower. It's unmanned tonight."

"What happens when we get there?"

"That's Angel's department. All I know is that I got you here on time." He leaned against the wall, checking his watch, and then looked around frantically. "More or less."

"Thanks," Faith said, catching his eye. "Really."

Then she ran from the door, sprinting across the grounds. She didn't look back to see if Rodriguez was following, and it didn't seem to matter. He'd done his job. Now it was Faith's turn. Almost to the wall. The air filled her lungs, intoxicating. Let the big bads come. Let the apocalypse come. Let it all come crashing down on her head. She'd stand tall and face it with-

Suddenly she was blinded by a flood of white light.

Faith stopped and put her hand to her eyes. Was this Angel's plan? She looked up. It was the spotlight from the guard tower, trained on her. But that meant...

Faith whirled.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw five men circling her with guns drawn. Four were wearing dark streetclothes and down-to-business expressions. Only one was wearing a guard's uniform. It was Rodriguez.

"You gotta be kiddin' me," Faith said.

Rodriguez smiled again, but this one was quite different. "I told you someone wanted you out of here tonight," he said. "Welcome to your first and last escape attempt, compliments of Wolfram &amp; Hart."

It was all just a joke, and once again she was the punchline. She had laid her heart on a false hope. Faith's spirit sank. The weight on her soul returned. She heard the sounds of guns being cocked.

She hesitated. There was the crack of a gunshot.

It seemed as if everything was moving in slow motion. Faith felt numb, but she was still standing. Another gunshot cracked across the yard. She flinched involuntarily, but felt nothing. The men around her were turning their backs to her. One of them fell, clutching his leg. There was someone else here, off in the darkness, shooting at them.

She dove at the nearest gunman, who was half turned, and landed a brutal right hook that crunched into his temple. The spotlight bounced over the two, trying to follow. His gun slipped from his hand as he fell, and Faith reached for it. A bullet buzzed past her ear - so close she could feel its heat - and pinged off the grass. A second later there was a pop and a tinkling of breaking glass, and the circle of white light disappeared.

Faith grabbed the gun and rolled away through the grass as gunshots began popping like firecrackers.

She grabbed a nearby ankle and pulled, and a man's head hit the grass hard next to her. Kicking his gun away as he lay dazed, she kipped up, finding herself facing Rodriguez's back as he fired wildly into the night.

She cocked her gun, and Rodriguez froze. The gun shook as Faith trembled with hatred.

"I'm thinking I send a message back to your bosses. And I've found nothing says 'screw you' quite like a six foot sack of dead scumbag."

There was the click of a trigger behind Faith's right ear. "That's enough," came a man's voice from behind her. She lowered her gun.

Rodriguez turned, enraged, shoved his gun to her chin, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

He measured the situation then slowly broke into a broad smile. "That's what I love about this job. You never know what's in that next chamber." Moving deliberately, he ejected the clip and pulled out a new one. "It's true, you know? Variety is the spice of life."

"Thank you, Forrest Gump," Faith said through clenched teeth. She stole a glance over her shoulder. There was only one left standing, but he could kill her any time he wanted. It looked like he was going to let Rodriguez do it unless she forced his hand.

But she never got the chance.

There was a great booming sound, and all three looked up. A gigantic purple rip had opened in the sky just above the guard tower, and lightning was lashing out to all sides.

She didn't have time to think. Faith whirled into a backfist, dropping the gunman behind her, then spun back and slammed her right hand into Rodriguez's jaw.

Another gunman had made it to his feet, but just as he closed his hand around his weapon a lightning bolt struck the section of wall behind him, throwing him back to the ground. Faith caught a glimpse of the wall seething with horrible life before a whip of leathery wings sent her to the ground as well.

She looked around in confusion as one of the gunmen was lifted into the air by something hideous and ripped apart, spraying the ground with blood. The ground itself had now split and something enormous seemed to be trying to crawl out. There was a terrible shrieking.

Instinct took over. She needed more firepower, higher ground. Faith looked to the guard tower. Its roof had been torn off by the massive split in the sky, and she could clearly see some sort of mounted weapon.

She sprinted for the access ladder, diving and rolling away from another rustle of wings. Her hands closed on the metal, and she began to climb.

Some part of her knew what this was... had known for a long time. It pounded away somewhere inside her - this was the end of the world, and she was going to die here alone and a criminal. But there was another feeling as well: Maybe she had a chance to make amends - to make a difference - right now.

So she kept climbing. Hand over hand, grunting, as chaos reigned on the ground below.

At last she spilled over the top. She stumbled over a guard's headless body, and reached for the weapon...

Something was falling toward her. Something from above. Shaking, she froze... then looked up like a condemned man, already sensing what she would see.

Her face was inches from the purple rip. And there, floating above her, twisting in agony, was Buffy. Her eyes were closed, her body writhing... inches from Faith.

Tears began streaming down Faith's face as she watched, face-to-face. Mouth gaping, Buffy's eyes opened at last and fixed on Faith.

There was an eternity in a second.

Then the eyes went blank. The rip was gone. Silence returned with an ominous crackle.

Faith didn't know how long she stood there. The part of her that could tell must be the part that felt so dead now, part of the sudden emptiness that ached like a fresh wound. She never knew she had room for so much of anything.

She was dimly aware of someone calling her name. She turned unfocused eyes to a tall guard who had been talking to her. Mandy? His name was Mandy? She noticed that he'd been shot. Her subconscious registered a friend.

There were more words that Faith didn't hear. Her world was silence, like a roar. At last a word broke it.

"Huh?" Faith mumbled.

"...to go back to solitary," the guard was saying.

The word fell into her mind and lay there like death.

"Yeah," she said. "Solitary."

 

____________

END


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